If you had to choose one - and only one - motor that you could do everything with, which would be the best choice?
Of course, this question depends very much on individual needs, but if you are looking for an engine that is suitable for everyday use, runs relatively quietly and is also suitable for off-road use, then our recommendation - not in all, but in most cases - is this one:
the BBSHD from Bafang
The BBSHD is one of the most popular mid-drive motors on the market.
Costs:
It's a good mid-drive motor in the middle price segment. It costs about 500$ (?) and it is possible to build a really good e-bike with it for less than 1000$ (all necessary parts incl. battery).
The cheapest place to get this motor is usually Aliexpress:
BBSHD on Aliexpress: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DkG0tDX
But if customer service is important to you, it's better to buy it from one of our recommended stores, such as em3ev, Lunacylce or Fasterbikes
Torque/Speed
As it is a mid-drive, the power and speed of the motor can be adjusted via the normal gear shift. This makes it possible to start off even on steep terrain with a higher gear (more power, less speed) as well as high speeds of around 50 km/h on level ground (fast gear - more speed, less power).
This makes the BBSHD very versatile and superior in almost every respect to hub motors, which only have one "gear" - i.e. only one fixed power/speed ratio - and are therefore always at a disadvantage on steep climbs, in demanding terrain and when starting off on steep tracks.
Quiet... at least for a mid-drive motor
Mid-drive motors are not known for being particularly quiet. The BBSHD is the exception here.
It is not as quiet as a DD hub motor (which in many cases are practically inaudible), but at about the same level as a geared hub motor or slightly louder. The noise of the tires and the freewheel are therefore almost as loud as the sound of the motor.
With many other mid-drive motors, on the other hand, the noise from the motor is significantly louder than the usual riding noise of a normal bike, which leads to confused and surprised looks in everyday use.
The BBSHD, on the contrary, is very quiet, especially in the faster gears, and hardly anyone notices it.
Power
The BBSHD is available from various suppliers in different power levels. It also plays a role which battery you use, as it is also available in different voltages. The following options are usually offered:
36 Volt 18 amp - 650 Watt
36 Volt 25 amp - 900 Watt (more torque than 18 amp)
48 Volt 18 amp - 900 Watt (more speed than 36 Volt)
48 Volt 25 amp - 1200 Watt
48 Volt 30 amp - 1500 Watt (most torque and speed - clearly our recommendation)
If you also want your bike to be suitable for electric-free riding, we recommend the 48V and 30 amp version, as they generally all cost the same. You can have a lot of fun with a throttle grip at 1500 watts of power.
However, this power level is also the minimum we recommend for electric-freeriding. By this we mean a motocross-like riding experience whose full potential lies more in the 2500 to 3500 watt range.
Nevertheless, the BBSHD already has a lot to offer with 1500 watts and has enough power for good acceleration, some power on hills as well as for wheelies and hillclimbs - provided you are in the right gear. Only things like drifts or really steep climbs that require a lot of power and need to be done at higher torque levels, are beyond the capabilities of a 1500 watt setup.
get a bit extra power
A tried and tested "upgrade" to get even more power out of the motor is to run tit with a 52 volt battery instead of a 48 volt battery.
This is safe, as the controller of the BBSHD can handle up to 60 volts, which in turn corresponds exactly to a 14S battery (i.e. a "52 volt battery") that is fully charged.
It is therefore not possible to use batteries with even higher voltages, as this would damage the controller.
cheap BBSHD on Aliexpress: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DkG0tDX
Not every battery is suitable, choose motor and battery in the same volt number - and at 48Volt is max.14S!
But with 14S - i.e. 52 volts (usually indicated as nominal battery voltage), the controller and also the motor can handle it well, and it gives you a little more speed (or power, depending on the gear).
The power increases with a 14S battery up to just over 1600 watts.
However, this requires a good battery with strong cells, and - as things stand today - only a few battery models from a handful of suppliers come into question.
If you use a "cheap" battery with 14S, the voltage (i.e. the number of volts) will quickly drop below 50 volts under load and you will be back to 1500 watts or even lower.
Required upgrade
There is one upgrade that we definitely recommend for this motor, and that is the chainring (i.e. the sprocket on the crank by the pedals).
The original chainring is not only of poor quality, but it also allows the chain to run at a rather unfavorable angle to the gears. This can lead to problems such as the chain falling off (which is very annoying) and lead to increased wear on the chain and the gears (also annoying).
That's why we always fit a better chainring to all BBSHDs, otherwise the riding experience suffers greatly from this one bad part.
There are several options here, but by far the best 2 upgrades are
Lekky Chainring - best quality, but a bit expensive Link: https://lekkie.tech/product-category/chain-rings/
Gustavo Chainring - same design, 1/3 the price, from China Link: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DDkTeDL
These 2 chainrings not only offer a better chainline, but are also wider at every 2nd tooth that engages the chain, which means even better power transmission, less wear and tear and even less chain dropping.
The two otpions are almost identical, but the Lekky "Blingring" has a slightly better quality and has proven itself over many years, and the competitor product from Gustavo has not been around as long and is still rather unknown.
Like the Lekky blingring, the Gustavo bling ring is available in different colors and sizes
How much speed and torque do you want? - Choose your chainring
Speaking of the chainring, you can also adapt the motor to your needs here.
Because the size of the chainring determines your top speed. The larger you choose this part, the faster your bike will ultimately go.
We usually use a size of 42T (this means the chainring has 42 teeth).
It's a good mix of speed and power. The top speed of the 42T (at 1500 watts) is around 50km/h on a flat road.
But isn't faster better?
With an even bigger chainring the speed would increase a bit more, but you also lose ground clearance and put more stress on the motor, chain and gears, which is why we would never go higher than 44T.
On the other hand, it also means that the power increases with a smaller chainring, but this plays less of a role, as you can master any gradient via the gears anyway. And if you still don't have enough power in the highest gear (which will almost certainly not be the case), you could also install a different cassette with a larger chainring on the rear wheel.
The top speed is different, because you will be riding with 1500 watts at a maximum on a 15T chainring on the rear wheel. This is usually the 3rd fastest gear (3rd smallest sprocket/chainring) on most gear systems and cassettes. The smaller sprockets (or faster gears) should not be used with this power, as they break quickly and the chain also wears quickly if the chain jumps over the sprockets under full load (clearly audible cracking on the rear wheel - you will experience this if you start off in a gear that is too fast).
You should only use the 2 smallest sprockets with pedal assistance and with max. 750-1000 watts
So if you still need something faster than 50Km/h, you can go for a 44T, but we do not recommend this.
And we don't see much point in going smaller than 40T on the chainwheel, as enough power can already be used via the gears anyway.
However, it makes sense to use a slightly smaller chainring for a heavier rider (90 kg+), as this reduces the load on the motor.
Display(s)
There are now a variety of displays, in all shapes and colors, they all basically do the same thing, namely display the motor data, consumption, speed, etc. and you can choose which one suits you best.
Only one display can offer you more functionality, and that is the Eggrider display. It is possible to connect your smartphone to the display via bluetooth and change all kinds of settings, record and read out rides and much more.
The most exciting thing about this display for us are 2 features
Setting the legal road traffic limits for your e-bike
The toggle button to switch from road mode to off-road mode
So you can set 2 modes, one for road use, and one where you have full power, and switch the whole thing at the touch of a button on the display. As the display can be mounted right next to the handlebar grips and has integrated buttons to regulate the pedal assistance, for example, this switch button is also easily accessible with the thumb.
It should be mentioned that you must of course clarify whether this is legal in your country... and we take no liability bla bla...
Link: https://eggrider.com/
throttle:
There are several throttles that can be used with this motor, but always make sure that you order one that is specifically made for the BBSHD, as not all throttles will work! You have the choice between different full throttles, as is common on motorcycles. However, there are also half throttles, which measure about half the length of a full throttle and which we prefer in most cases. But this is a matter of taste and they are all the same in terms of function.
Then there are also thumb throttles, which are more common on e-scooters, but there are also a few that can be used with the BBSHD.
Here are a few links to the throttles we use:
-link full throttle
-link half throttle
-link thumb throttle
PAS - pedal assist
With the BBSHD, pedal assistance (PAS) is provided by a cadence sensor. This means that the speed at which the pedal/crank turns is measured. This is fine, but the assistance must always be adapted to the terrain in question, otherwise so-called "ghost pedaling" will occur.
Imagine you select the strongest support level on the display to ride up a very steep incline. If you now ride back down and do not reduce the assistance manually, the motor will provide too much power as soon as you turn the crank a little. You are not yet putting any muscle power into the pedals and they are turning without resistance, but the motor is still giving full power (because it is still set for the uphill).
So it's a bit like a throttle grip for the legs, and not the natural riding feeling that other motors have with torque based pedal assistance.
This is not a problem once you get used to adjusting the support level (PAS) and gear shifting to the conditions, but it can be less intuitive at first than other systems that work with a torque sensor - which is the highest of feelings for PAS enthusiasts.
Not the right motor for you?
If you don't need that much power after all, the smaller brother of the BBSHD is also worth considering - the BBS02.
It is slightly lighter and smaller an also cheaper, but also weaker.
BBS02 on a hardtail bike with 1200 watts - cool, but not comparable to the power of the BBSHD
If you mainly want to ride with pedal assistance, motors with torque sensors offer a better experience - an article with our recommendations will be published in the near future.
And here is the video-review:
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